Tossing and Turning? The Surprising Reasons Why You're Not Sleeping

You know how it's always hardest to get to sleep the day before a big-deal, uber-stressful thing at work--when you really need that full eight hours? According to new a new report from the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, we may be sabotaging our attempts to fall asleep. Here's what you could be doing to kill zzzs:

You know how it's always hardest to get to sleep the day before a big-deal, uber-stressful thing at work--when you really need that full eight hours? According to new a new report from the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, we may be sabotaging our attempts to fall asleep. Here's what you could be doing to kill zzzs:

Winding down with a book or TV: Bad idea, say experts. This can actually make it harder to sleep.

Sleeping in on weekends: OK, you love it (so do I), but by varying your wake times, they say, it messes with your body's ability to fall asleep consistently.

And ... drum roll ... the most surprising advice you may hear about sleep in a while: If you're laying in bed unable to sleep, GET UP: I know, this sounded strange to me, too. But apparently lying there counting sheep isn't going to do anything to make you sleepy. If you got up and did the dishes or checked your email or walked the dog, chances are better that your next attempt at bedtime will be more successful.

Oh, and you could also pour yourself a glass of cherry juice--a natural powerhouse of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone, which I wrote about here.